Observing Gomez "take ownership of her life and her creative decisions in a new way has been a really beautiful thing to watch," says Taylor Swift, who famously cast her old friend against type as an ass-kicking villain (alongside the rest of Swift's It Nation) in this year's "Bad Blood" video. She captioned the clip "I feel like I can exhale, I'm finally being me." On June 18, Gomez posted a video on Facebook of her record-ing, in a lower register than usual, the track's breathy, sexy opening vocals (she goes on to croon, "Let me show you how proud I am to be yours / Leave this dress a mess on the floor"). The first major test of Gomez 2.0 (or is it 3.0?) is upon us with the release of the ambitious, personal Revival, and as any Interscope exec can tell you, the forecast for the album is blindingly sunny: In July, its first single, "Good for You," debuted at number one on Billboard's digital chart, a career-best sales week for Gomez that surpassed first-week sales for Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money." Gomez, the devoted and strategic CEO of her own highly influential brand-and a celeb minted in the social-media era, for whom curating an easy-access portal into her life is second nature-has always been deeply loyal to "my Selinators."īut pleasing the fans you hooked in your prepubescence while also showing them you've evolved into something very different-and, for that matter, figuring out what that new thing you want to be actually is-can be tricky. Plus, she projected a nice-girl sweetness that sank an arrow straight through the hearts of Selinators, as her fans became known. When she made her debut at 14 years old as the smart-mouthed, magic-enabled middle daughter on the Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place-a show that ran for six years in 163 countries and 32 languages-with her heart-shaped face and dense black mane, she looked like a doll version of herself, or one of Disney's own animations: the platonic ideal of nonthreatening "postracial" (Gomez, who hails from Grand Prairie, Texas, is half Mexican) adolescent beauty.
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Miley Cyrus may have taken a wrecking ball to her Hannah Montana alter ego, but Gomez-despite a much-buzzed-about role in 2012's roller coaster of recreational drug use and wanton panty flashing, Spring Breakers-has treated Alex Russo, and the girls who loved her, with more compassion. I wanted to see if I could really do it." "That's why I made all of these decisions within a year. More on that later.) "I wanted to be a little uncomfortable," says Gomez, now 23. And finally, finally kicked the Bieber habit. Signed a reported $3 million endorsement deal with Pantene. Bought a new home-a 7,200-square-foot spread in celeb-friendly Calabasas. Recorded a new album, Revival, out this month. Parted ways-after three gold albums and a greatest-hits collection that included her first smash hit, "Love You Like a Love Song," and the 2013 top 10 number "Come & Get It"-with her old record label and inked a new deal with Interscope. Said good-bye to Dream Out Loud, the eco-friendly clothing line she designed for Kmart that reportedly netted her $1 million annually.
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I was a Disney kid."Ī Disney kid, a child star-Gomez has made a series of calculated moves in the past year to peel off those labels once and for all: She split from her longtime manager-who also happens to be her mom. "It used to not be cool to think I was hot.
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"Now, more than ever, I realize I've gained a male fan base," she says under her breath. Catcalling must be a daily event in the life of a tween dream–turned–sex symbol, but somehow Gomez still has the modesty to blush ever so slightly. Gomez laughs but keeps her eyes to the ground as she walks swiftly toward her car. Lamely, one calls out: "Selena! You're hot!" Mouths agape, they blink in her direction. "Is that… Selena Gomez?" one shouts, making the pack turn instantly. And it's exactly what a dozen teenage boys encounter on the first days of their summer vacation, as Gomez exits Malibu Creek State Park after a long hike. It sounds like a teenage boy's fantasy: Selena Gomez emerges from the wild, her face flushed and damp, her torn, heather-gray tank riding up to reveal a bare midriff as she wipes a few beads of sweat from her forehead.